This website is dedicated to making a case for Dave
Concepcion to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. An anchor of the
Big Red Machine of the 1970's (and member of the
Cincinnati Reds' Hall of Fame and Museum), Davey hasn't gotten nearly the attention of
some of his
other colleagues (e.g. Pete Rose). However, when compared to
an obvious HOF'er, one will note that Davey does quite well. He was almost
as good a fielder (within 3/1000ths of Ozzie on fielding), and actually had a better
batting average and hit for more power than the Wizard. It is true that Davey doesn't have as many Gold
Gloves (five to Ozzie's 13). However, one will also note that their
careers overlapped by 11 seasons (1978-1988 inclusive), when many of Ozzie's
Gold Gloves were won, so it seems unfair that he's being penalized for that. By
the "premier player of his era at position" criteria (i.e. the 70's up until
Ozzie came in 1978), Davey belongs in, especially in a world where Carlton Fisk
(huh?!? in what era was he the best catcher?) got in. When asked in this who was not in
the Hall who should be, the Wizard himself said"...Concepcion."
In another interview posted on the
Official
David Concepcion Website, English version (this site seems to be non-functional
now), Ozzie's statement (translated back into English
from Spanish): "I think that David Concepcion deserves to be in
Cooperstown ". I'd think Ozzie might know something about shortstops.

Jon Heyman, CNNSI - "...in his time he was the standard for shortstops,
making nine All-Star teams and quietly helping the Big Red Machine be what it
was."

More from
Jon Heyman, CNNSI (describing his choices for his 2008 ballot). "Dave
Concepcion. This is his 15th and last year on the ballot, and he's
probably going to get his usual 10 percent of the vote again. The reason I am
in that 10 percent is that I think he was perhaps the best all-around
shortstop of his generation and an underrated piece of the Big Red Machine.
Great defender (five Gold Gloves) and superb stealer (321 stolen bases), his
career looks a lot like Hall-of-Famer PhilRizzuto's to me --
without the announcing, of course."

One of my attempts to push this issue previously (and its
outcome), in the form of a letter to Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated.

With the Hall of Fame inductions on July 28, I thought I'd ask your
opinion about Dave Concepcion, who I feel is an underrated member of the Big Red
Machine. Concepcion's fielding percentage (.972) compares favorably with Ozzie
Smith's (.978), and his batting average was slightly better than Ozzie's (.267
vs. .262). Davey also won five Gold Gloves (to Smith's 13). The only knock I can
see against Concepcion is that he may have benefited from being on those
dominant Reds teams. Still, I find it hard to name a better shortstop for the
decade of the '70's. Your opinion?--Dave Salisbury, Kettering, Ohio

I like Concepcion a lot, but he's no Hall of Famer. Do you realize while
playing on The Big Red Machine he scored 80 runs in a season only once? Plus, he
led the league in fielding percentage only once. (Larry Bowa
did so six times. If you put Concepcion in, Bowa has to go in, too.)
Offensively, Davey rates similarly to Ozzie, but Smith's defense was so
extraordinary that he separated himself from all others. I hate excluding steady
players such as Concepcion, but you have to draw the line somewhere and I
believe when it comes to the Hall you err on the side of keeping it elite.

Agreed on fielding percentage, but one also has to recall
that Bowa wouldn't get to grounders that Concepcion regularly played. Further,
Mr. Humprheys' paper (noted above) actually suggests that Bowa would probably
rate as "poor" in fielding, due to his limited range. Smith and Concepcion
were rated as "excellent" in that study. Hence I don't know that I buy the
"Bowa was as good so he'd have to get in too" argument. There's a clear
difference between Concepcion and Bowa, IMHO.

Let's take a look at the stats comparing Davey to Ozzie
(and for argument's sake Larry Bowa)...

Bowa's fielding percentage is indeed higher, but again
there's the concern about limited range noted above. His batting average
is roughly comparable, but he lags behind Davey in slugging, walks, RBI, and
home runs. Actually, take away walks (gee Ozzie had a good eye) and Davey
looks pretty good offensively against Ozzie, too.